GUILDERLAND — hopes some changes and new faces will mesh with some old ways and old timers to bring the success the program is striving for.

Structural changes have been made in the coaching staff and a group of juniors who were successful on the junior varsity team will join a large group of returning players.
"We brought up two long-time junior varsity coaches in Garth Childs and John Winters to varsity," said Guilderland Head Coach Dan Penna. "The j.v. will be run by Jason Usher and Curtis May."

Penna said that all the coaches know the system, but Penna wanted four coaches on the varsity level. Bill Schewe returns as the associate coach for the Dutchmen.
"Four coaches gives the varsity players more specific training at specific positions, like the quarterbacks will get more specific training," Penna said.

The Dutch used a new offense last year and had success, so just minor changes will be made.
"We scored, in our last two games, 80 to 90 points," Penna said. "We will fine tune our running game and expand the passing offense."

Penna has seen good things from the seniors and the newcomers as they work on coming together as a team.
"We have strong juniors that are getting support from a strong group of seniors," the coach said. "All the kids have been in the program for years."

"Foot on the gas the whole time"

The players have been working hard in preparing for the season.
"The practices have been a lot harder than the last couple of years," said senior Greg Barcomb.

The seniors have also been a big part of leading off-season workouts.
"We had a 50-percent increase in the weight room just on the varsity level alone," Penna said. "We had 200 kids that found time to work out last year and this year we had 300. We also had seven-on-seven sessions to work on the passing game."
"We got a lot of guys in the weight room," senior Nick Zanotta said. "We did a lot of out-of-season training."

Penna is forming another leadership council like last year. All the members have not been selected yet, but seniors Zanotta, Kyle Hussey, Kevin Forbes, and Barcomb will be included.

Penna was disappointed in Monday morning’s practice but said the team has shown promise in the first week of pre-season practices.
"I’m taking it one practice at a time," he said. "We didn’t have a great morning. I want the kids to have their foot on the gas the whole time."

Penna hasn’t set any goals for the team, though some of his players have.
"Each year you have specific goals," Penna said. "I feel we have the athletes to compete and this group can establish a competitive tone that we want to establish. I think we have a team that can take the next step. They want to go to the playoffs. They have the mindset that we need to win every game they play.
"This team has the ability," Penna added. "The key is to come together as a team in the next week or so. They all have to buy into the team concept. That is the toughest part, but the truth is this group has the potential to do it."

The varsity players have been working with players at the younger levels and even go to Pop Warner practices to help out there.
"They go down there to help teach," Penna said. "We are thinking about the long-term as well as the short-term."

Joining Forbes, Barcomb, Hussey, and Zanotta as key returners are linemen Matt Glock, Christian Cortes, linebacker Ian DeSol and receiver and defensive back Joe Lima.

Linebacker Pete Stanish returns after being a starter as a sophomore last year. Classmate Paul Booker also saw a lot of time on the field last year.

Junior Drew Smith is a newcomer to the varsity and brings athleticism to the Dutchmen. He was on the varsity basketball team last winter.
"We have a lot of size on the line," Forbes said. "We have a lot of starters back. Over half the kids were underclassmen."

But there are a lot of spots that are open.
"There are a lot of competitive guys out here," Zanotta said. "They are working for spots that are open."
"Everybody is working hard," Forbes added.

The Dutchmen will have a scrimmage at Mohonasen on Saturday, where they will face the host school and Schenectady High School.

Looking for crowds

Guilderland opens the season against Shaker on Sept. 1.
"We are looking forward to the first game," Hussey said. "It’ll be nice to get the pre-season out of the way."
"Shaker was in the final four of the section playoffs," Penna said. "We’ll have our hands full. It’s another strong opener. They graduated some strong players but they have some skilled players coming up. They will be a tough opponent for us. Traditionally, they run a lot of option, but they might mix it up."

Following Shaker, Guilderland will host Troy and then travel to Columbia and Niskayuna. The Niskayuna game will be on a Thursday night instead of Friday.

The Dutchmen return home to take on Saratoga in week five of the season. Guilderland wraps up the regular season with road games against Queensbury and Ithaca, in a out-of-section contest.

The Dutchmen are in a new division with Troy, Shaker, Saratoga, and Queensbury.
"Troy is a perennial power," Penna said. "And two teams were in the playoffs last year — Saratoga and Shaker. And Queensbury was in the playoffs in the A’s last year."
"Section II is tough," Hussey said. "It’s weird we don’t play Colonie or Shen."

The Dutch hope that a new look to the team room on the east side of school will inspire a new attitude. The booster club, parents, and players painted the room and added trim to the lockers to give it a nicer look.

It is all a part of the changes the program is going through to put itself in the right direction.
"The program hasn’t had a lot of success," Barcomb said. "The program hasn’t had a winning season in eight years. We want to make Friday nights a big thing. We want to get some big crowds."